


Synaesthesia

by AngelicSentinel



Series: Colours 'Verse [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Anal Sex, Asexual Character, Canon Events stay the Same, Cloud Finds them Post Meteor, Friends to Lovers, Frottage, Fuck Or Die, Grey-A, M/M, Mentions of Cloud/Tifa, Mildly Dubious Consent, Oral Sex, Porn with Feelings, Schmoop, Slight Crossdressing Kink, Zack and Aerith are Alive, mentions of Zack/Aerith, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 14:02:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6118636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngelicSentinel/pseuds/AngelicSentinel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Someone spikes Zack's drink with a deadly aphrodisiac. Cloud is the one that helps him through it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Synaesthesia

**Author's Note:**

> AU where Zack is found and nursed back to health after Cloud walks off to Midgar, but otherwise things are exactly the same until Zack rescues Aerith from drowning after being stabbed by Sephiroth. Cloud finds them after METEOR.

Zack threw his bag on the table and lay the Buster against the wall. It had been a long mission and he was really looking forward to some time alone with Aerith. He needed release, and badly.

Mercenary work never got any easier, especially post-METEOR, _especially_ if it involved wet work. His excellent swordsmanship and ex-SOLDIER resume (not to mention his friendship with Cloud) made him a popular contract choice with the WRO, and as much as they'd like to deny it; missions like this were necessary, and Zack had enough blood on his hands that a little more didn't hurt. So he kept telling himself.

It wouldn't be the first time Aerith had helped him shaking through the aftermath.

It was really hot in Edge right now, and his dress blacks were drowning him in sweat. He unclipped his armor and his mask, tossing them to the side, letting him breathe a little bit easier. He sat down on the sofa for a brief moment to catch his breath, head in his hands. He stood up after a moment, heading to the kitchen to get him some water.

Cloud stood in the den in a short black négligé, hands crossed over his chest. He was staring out the window; no, not out, beyond the window, in his own little world.

Zack could see the rippling muscles in Cloud’s back, his lean, taut shoulders moving as he wrapped his arms around himself. The thin fabric accentuated a firm ass and long, thick thighs. Cloud liked to walk around naked or close to it every so often, especially when it got hot, and Zack had gotten pretty much used to it. Drove him and Aerith nuts, though. He didn’t let his eyes linger too long. Bad decisions lay that way.

“Cloud?” Zack ventured. When there was no response, Zack walked up to him putting his hand on his shoulder. “Cloud, what are you doing here?”

Cloud whirled, “Zack?” He said in surprise, losing his balance, and grabbing the closest thing next to him, which just so happened to be Zack. Zack turned so he would cushion him as they fell, hands wrapped tightly around Cloud’s waist to keep him from falling to the floor. They landed hard, Cloud sprawled against his chest.

Zack blushed. “Sorry,” he said helplessly to long lashes. He let go of his waist and put his hands to the side so he wouldn’t be tempted to touch him. God, he was already way too horny if he was wanting to touch Cloud, near naked or not.

“It’s fine.” Cloud said, pushing himself up a little.“You just surprised me, that's all. You're back early.” He was straddling him, fabric bunched at his hips, hands leaned over on each side of him, close to his face, eyes locked on Zack's.

Zack deliberately kept his eyes away, looking at those full lips instead, licking his own before speaking. “Intel was good. The mission was easy.” Cloud's lovely thighs cradling his hips certainly didn't help. All his blood was starting to run south.

“That's good. You've been going on so many solo missions Aerith and I were starting to worry,” Cloud said, not moving.

“Uh, Cloud,” Zack said, starting to panic as the heat was starting to course through his blood, making him feel light-headed. “Mind letting me up?” _You know, before little Zack makes himself known?_

“I missed you, Zack,” Cloud said, and purposefully ground his hips down into Zack's, blue eyes dark and hooded.

Zack let out a long strangled moan. _Too late._ The friction hurt so good in the worst way. He needed to get up, NOW, before he did something he regretted. “Cloud, buddy, _please—”_ Cloud tugged off Zack's jumper, leaned down so they were touching and kissed the sensitive part of his neck under his ear, nipples brushing against his hard chest. Zack gasped at the sensation, tossing his head back, baring his neck to Cloud. “I missed you too. _Ah_! But what's this all about?”

“How long have we been friends, Zack?” Cloud murmured in his ear, licking the shell of it, grinding his hips against him again and again.

“Since, _ah,_ Modeoheim, _Gaia_ , Cloud, why are you—”

“And have you ever thought about this?” Cloud pressed, both with his words and his body.

 _Fuuck, that feels too good._ “S-sometimes,” Zack choked out because he couldn’t lie to his best friend. Cloud reached his hands down his pants and Zack thought he was going to explode as Cloud gave him a few loose strokes. He was so close to coming it was embarrassing. As Cloud’s hand left him, Zack bucked unconsciously, looking for that extra contact.

“Mhmm. Good boy,” Cloud said against his lips before delving his tongue inside his mouth. Zack let him do it as Cloud lifted the lower half of Zack’s body, wiggling him out of his pants with Zack’s help. “You know you’ve wanted this.”

He drove himself inside Zack, taking a few seconds to adjust, pumping his hips. Cloud made him so full, the sensation unbelievable. He grabbed one of Zack's hands, the other holding him in place. Zack reached up and flicked a nipple through the fabric with a scrape of his thumbnail. Cloud pistoned his hips again and again, milking himself with Zack, tossing his head back. He kept thrusting and twisting his hips just _right_ until Zack thought he was going to die if he didn’t come just then, and—

“Zack! Zack? You with me?”

Someone was shaking him. “What the—Cloud?” Zack said, opening his eyes and sitting straight up. He was as hard as hell, and the touch of Cloud’s hands on his bare arm burned a deep green as it sent heat straight to his cock.

“Yeah, it’s me,” Cloud said. He was wearing his leather riding gear. “You fell asleep on the couch. You were tossing and calling out in your sleep. I kept knocking and you didn’t answer, so when I heard you call out I let myself in with the spare key you gave me. You all right?”

Zack let out a breath. “It was just a dream.”

“Some dream,” Cloud said, “You haven't had nightmare in a long time.”

Cloud looked worried, concerned. So Zack added, “It wasn't a nightmare,” Zack said, turning his head so Cloud wouldn't see his blush.

“Then what kind of—oh,” Cloud said.

“Yeah,” Zack said. He pointed to his bulging crotch. “You mind?”

Cloud snorted and shook his head.

Zack took himself to the bathroom and brought himself off, quick and dirty in a flash of dull burnished gold, but it still didn't help. He was still hard, unnaturally so. Zack was a little worried, now.

He left the room, shucking off his clothes as he went, leaving him in some thin boxers, struggling to peel his clothes from his skin. He staggered through the room back to the den, sweating, knocking knickknacks off shelves with a clatter crash. The room started to heat up; even the air touching his skin ached as his skin became hypersensitive. His stomach sank as he recognised the symptoms. “When will Aerith be home?” He said in a mild panic to Cloud, who went to him, hovering. Zack wouldn’t let Cloud touch him. If he could just bear it until she got home...

“She's out on a run to Rocket Town. Left a couple of days after you did. Still has a week left of travel time. She left a note; guess you hadn't seen it yet. Probably a voicemail, too.”

“Fuck!” Zack snarled, running his hands through his hair. “Fuck!”

“Zack?” Cloud said, alarmed now. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing, it was just a _hard_ mission,” he grinned, but inside he was still panicking. His arousal still wasn't flagging, and movement was starting to become painful. He ran his head through the last few hours of the mission; the smirking informant that betrayed him, the assassination he’d still pulled off, the meal before, a drink at the bar to unwind, fit in….

 _The fucking drink._ “I think she got me with an aphrodisiac.”

“Zack,” Cloud reached out. “We need to go to the clinic.”

Zack shook his head violently, slapping his arm away, not touching his skin directly. “No, they can't help. They won't help. I know what it is, goddamn honeypot mission, I’ve encountered it before. A Turk I knew. There must have been counterintelligence at work. I was a target. Fuck, I messed up. I’m such an idiot! At least she's dead. No true antidote.”

“How do we fix it?” Cloud asked. “If there's no antidote, can we fix it?”

“Sweating. Waiting it out, if I survive that long, but that hardly ever works. Sex. It's got to be two people, something about how the drug interacts with mana and the Lifestream. Fuck, I'm such an idiot!” He ran his hands through his hair and threw himself back against the wall, sinking down to the floor.

“Time frame?” Cloud asked, all business.

“Thirty-six to forty-eight hours. I'll get more incoherent as it goes on, peaking at twenty-four before I’ll start to normalise. That’s what the Shin-Ra reports said.”

“Can I get you anything? Water? A cold shower?” Cloud quirked his lip, but it was forced.

“A good fuck would be nice,” Zack muttered curling up, hands around his knees.

Cloud went very, very still for the longest moment. Then he said so softly Zack could barely hear him. “Okay,” he took a deep breath. “I can do that.” He bit his lip. Then he set his jaw, knelt where Zack was huddled in the corner, and reached out for Zack.

Zack jerked away. “Don't come near me.”

“Zack, _please,”_ Cloud begged. It was almost more than Zack could stand. “If I can help you, why not let me?” Cloud said. “I don't want you to die, not if there's anything I can do about it.”

“You said you were ace,” Zack said. “I couldn't feel right, wouldn't feel right. And Tifa...”

“I still have a sex drive. I’m just not attracted sexually to people, Zack. Tifa and I make it work. She's happy enough with what we have. And you have Aerith. Besides, you're not...like me,” he said, almost bitterly.

“Like you?” Zack asked.

Cloud muttered a few words so softly Zack couldn't hear them. Zack made a guess anyway.

“I wouldn't be so sure. That fucking dream,” Zack muttered.

“That dream was about me?” Cloud asked, surprised. “I thought—”

“Who wouldn't? You're pretty as hell, man,” the crawling sensation was like a drug, making him uninhibited and honest. Very good for unearthing enemy secrets, very bad for him right now. “I’ve wanted to make like bunnies for a long time, all right? Since I saw you in that photo dressed like a woman, okay?”

“Zack—” Cloud said, stunned.

“Fuck! Just kill me now!” Zack said as another wave of longing rushed through him. He punched the wall.

“Zack,” Cloud said again. “I can help you! Look, I know I don't fit your preference—”

“Goddamn it, Cloud, don't you understand _you_ are my preference? You and your nice round ass and your thighs, oh my god, I could get lost in those thighs, and the way your muscles play across your back when you move, but especially when you're fighting with your Fusion Swords. Zack said in one breath. “It's why we can't do this!”

“ _Oh_.” Cloud took a deep breath. “Aerith and Tifa would understand it's to save your life,” Cloud said, cheeks a deep pink. “We’d never have to do this again.”

“Exactly,” Zack said, “We’d never have to do this again, but this time I’d know what I was missing every time I looked at you.”

“Zack,” Cloud breathed.

“Quit saying my name like that before I do something we’ll both regret.” Zack said, but Cloud ignored him, shifting his body closer.

“Zack,” Cloud murmured, crawling between his legs and kissed him, soft and sweet and gentle, in a wave of soft purples that unfolded like wings. Zack made a noise of surprise, but kissed him back, long and luxurious and languid, pulling Cloud into his lap, running his hands over his shoulders and across his back and through his hair.

“Cloud,” Zack warned, “If we start, I won't be able to stop.” He was already in too deep, lost in sensation, in the haze of colours, burning from Cloud's hands on his face.

“Shhh,” Cloud said. “Don’t worry. Let me save you like you saved me.”

Zack whimpered. He could feel Cloud hard against his stomach and with his words, it was almost more than he could bear. “Cloud, _ungh_ , you don't have to do this,” he said, while inside he was crying, _Please don't stop._

“I want to,” Cloud said, kissing along the lines of his jaw, sucking on his pulse point in a burst of bright gold-green before moving down, kissing the myriad of gunshot scars that marked Zack's body, tounging them gently.

“This is a far cry from hiding you in the Wastes, or jumping in front of bull— _ah_ —b-bullets,” Cloud had just grazed his teeth across a nipple, moving steadily down, worshipping his body reverently with featherlight kisses.

“But no less serious,” Cloud said to his stomach, tracing the lines of Zack's abdomen with his tongue before dipping inside his hollow. Then he moved lower, kissing the lines of his hip bones, tonguing the light hair above his elastic band.

Zack let out a controlled breath. “You know what you're doing?” He joked.

“Theoretically,” Cloud said. “How hard could it be?”

“Very hard,” Zack said, grabbing Cloud's hand and linking their fingers together, squeezing them tightly. “Very, very hard. Painfully hard.”

“Ha ha.” Cloud struggled with Zack's boxers for a moment—that was always awkward—as they worked them off his legs, leaving him bare. Then he licked a little precome from Zack's tip.

Zack just about lost it. “Oh, _fuck_ ,” he said as he bucked his hips, and Cloud took him into his mouth, one hand in his squeezing for reassurance, the other hand on the base of Zack's cock, stroking up and down, matching the rhythm of the bobbing of his head, tucking his teeth behind his lips.

It wasn't like the dream. It was better, warm and wet and tight, and while Cloud fumbled a few times—a graze of teeth, a little too much pressure—he appeared to be making a note of how Zack reacted to each move, to each little stroke of the tongue and adjusted accordingly, swirling his tongue around the head, licking the underside from tip to base, hollowing his cheeks.

Zack felt the surge of supernova white building, the shiver, felt himself crest as Cloud continued with his skillful tongue. “Cloud!” He called his name in warning, fingers tightening around Cloud's.

Cloud paid him no mind, still working on him; in fact, calling his name seemed to make him more focused on keeping him at a peak. _“Gaia,_ Cloud!” Zack came in a surge of white-hot heat, and still Cloud milked him with his mouth, drinking him down until he was spent.

 _Fuck_. He was still hard and hypersensitive. That had barely relieved the pressure. “Cloud…”

Cloud pulled away. Zack shivered at the loss of heat, the myriad of soothing colours surrounding Cloud. “What's wrong, Zack?”

“It’s just getting worse,” Zack said, panting, breathing hard. He'd curled his hands into fists.

Cloud blinked. “All right. Then we'll keep at it. Until it gets better.”

“We?” Zack couldn't help but ask.

“We're in this together. Now come on, let's get you to bed. Better than waiting it out on the floor. That’s got to be uncomfortable.” Zack felt a surge of affection for Cloud. _We_ , he'd said. Zack never thought this would happen, that this would ever be possible.

Cloud moved and stood, Zack seeing a sickly black tinged with yellow, immediately feeling like a furnace just went out. Now that they weren't touching, he felt woozy, dizzy. He tried to take a step and staggered, nearly falling flat on his ass. “Cloud?” He said weakly. “We need to keep touching. It's draining my life force to metabolise. And yours.”

“Good thing I’ve got a ton, then.” Cloud went to his side, lifting him up, letting him rest on him. Zack couldn't help it; it hurt, but he thrust against Cloud again and again, wanting, no _needing_ the friction. Cloud paused for a moment, turning, grabbing Zack's hands and placing them on his ass. Zack couldn't help it; he gave it a squeeze and pressed their hips together in greens and golds, tucking Cloud’s head below his chin. Cloud was still wearing clothes, but he could feel him, hard against his thigh through the tight leather. He let out a sound of pain which had Cloud pulling back.

“Zack?”

He was losing it. “Cloud, this is hell, I don't think—”

“I've got you Zack, c’mon. Just a bit further, we can make it, let's go.”

They made it to Cloud's bed in the spare room, Cloud having to go slowly to make up for Zack trying to increase contact, which Cloud wouldn't let him do. It was getting worse, the lust still growing more and more intense, and his cock was already beginning to chafe.

Another strong surge of lust had Zack pushing Cloud down onto the bed and straddling him, ignoring the pain, kissing him hard in electric indigo, thrusting his tongue inside his mouth and plundering it. Cloud tried to get up, to push back, but Zack used his weight to keep him pinned. Cloud twined his tongue with Zack, still receptive of the kiss, but he bucked, trying to flip them or knock Zack off. Out of his mind with sensation, Zack wouldn't let up, unzipping Cloud's leather tunic from his body and running his hands down his sides. He tongued his neck, using his teeth at Cloud's pulse point in a wave of crimson.

Cloud tilted his head back with a gasp, baring his neck to Zack. Zack hummed against against his throat, leaving a trail of rough kisses down to the crook of his shoulder and across his collarbone, down to his chest, where Zack spent some time on his nipples, sucking and grazing them with his teeth before blowing cold air on them just to watch Cloud tremble. But it wasn't enough.

The trousers had to go. He kept Cloud down with one hand while using the other to undress him; Cloud wiggled, helping him get them off, until he was naked underneath him, Cloud's cock bumping insistently against his balls as Zack rocked. It felt too good. It hurt too much.

Zack moved back, nudging Cloud's thighs aside. They were the most beautiful part of him, wide and thick and muscular. Then Cloud was spread out before him, thighs open wide. Zack thought he could come from the way they flexed alone. Cloud’s cock was sticking straight up and weeping. He was so beautiful it hurt: his face flushed, his blue eyes wide.

Zack wanted to take him in his mouth. Instead, he leaned down and began to make love to his thigh, licking the sweat and tonguing one, sucking gently against the taut, flexing muscle, leaving a trail of dark marks down Cloud’s pale thigh before moving to the other one.

Zack was out of his mind with lust, a side effect of the drug, but he managed to come to himself enough to reach over and search Cloud’s drawer for something to use. Luckily, he found some oil made for this use on the first try, right next to an interesting assortment of toys. _Ooo, Cloud likes to play._

He and Aerith had done this enough he knew how it went; she was also a big fan of pegging. (So was Zack, for that matter.)

Zack prepped a finger with the lubricant and thrust it inside Cloud. Cloud let out a gasp. Zack gave him a few moments to adjust before sticking a second in, working his fingers and stretching him, scissoring his fingers, looking for that place that Aerith knew so well on him. He knew he hit it when Cloud let out a strangled cry. By the third, Cloud was making greedy little noises and forcing himself down on Zack's hand. Zack massaged him in encouragement, playing with his ass, running his other hand down his cleft, making sure there was more than enough lube to be comfortable.

After some time spent with the fourth finger, Zack slicked himself down and pressed his cock to Cloud's entrance, entering him with a long, slow thrust. It was wonderfully tight, and he felt Cloud clench against the intrusion. He gave him time to adjust, muscles rippling around him.

Then he began thrusting, hands on Cloud’s hips, Cloud begging for more and more. “Zack, _please_!” Both of them were becoming positively undone as he moved faster, went harder, twisting his hips to a cascade of vermilion. Cloud grabbed his cock and began to stroke in time to Zack’s thrusts.

“Zack! _Ungh!_ ” Cloud came in glorious fireworks, come splattering across his stomach and thighs. Zack pulled out and licked it up greedily, tonguing his stomach until most of it was gone. He could feel the way Cloud's muscles played under his skin as he breathed.

A surge of affection wiped away the lust as Zack came back to himself. “Oh fuck, _Cloud_ , what have I done?” Zack said in horror. Cloud was thoroughly fucked, kiss marks all over his neck and thighs, come everywhere, still panting from his orgasm.

“Fucked me sensless, I think,” Cloud said, dazed. He forced himself to sit up. “I don't think I’m gonna be able to walk. Feel better?”

“Cloud, I—”

Cloud put his hands on Zack's face, looking straight into his eyes. “—Didn't do anything I didn't want.” Cloud kissed him chastely on the lips, which Zack returned with a gentle press of his own. “In fact, I should be asking if you're okay. You didn't have a choice. I did.”

“Cloud,” Zack breathed.

Cloud quirked the corner of his lip. “You keep saying my name like that I might do something we’ll both regret.”

“Oh _Cloud_ ,” Zack said, and rested his head against Cloud's forehead. He trusted Zack so much; to let him do this, to let him take him. No regrets, no hesitation or indecision.

“A shower, I think. We're pretty gross,” Cloud said, still with his head against Zack's.

“Yeah,” Zack said. “You first, or?”

“Well I was hoping together,” Cloud said. “You need touch remember?”

“I’ll be fine for a little bit, but it’ll come back, and be worse. I can't believe I let this happen to me,” Zack said.

“Someone did it to you. You didn’t ‘let’ anything happen. It's a good thing I came over,” Cloud said. “I can't imagine what you would have done if you were here by yourself.”

“It wouldn't be pretty. Cloud, I just—” Zack took in a deep shuddering breath, then grabbed Cloud's hand. “Thank you.”

Cloud pressed the side of his face against Zack's. “I thought I lost you once. I'm not going to lose you again.” With that solemn pronouncement, he got up, rummaged through his discarded clothes for a light green materia and his PHS.

“I've got to call Tifa,” he said. “While there’s a break. Might not have a chance later. Someone's got to watch Denzel. He’s a good kid and good at looking after himself, but I'd feel better knowing someone's keeping an eye on him. ”

“She gonna be mad?” Zack wondered.

Cloud exhaled slowly. “She'll understand. She knows the kind of person I am.”

“Flaky as all hell?”

Cloud twisted the corner of his lip. “Something like that. She's…she’s great, Zack.”

Zack said, “You gonna get into this?” he said, gesturing to the both of them.

“You mind?”

“No.”

“Then, yeah.” He pressed a button and dialed her number. “I need you to keep an eye on Denzel tonight and possibly tomorrow.”

“Zack's in trouble.” A pause. “Medical.”

“I can't.”

“No, drugged. He needs me.”

“Yes...actually. How—”

“I see.” Cloud said, shaking his head.

“Of course.”

“I can’t do that, not when I can help.”

A longer silence. “Tifa, I’m his friend. Who else?” Another pause. “I’ll ask.”

“I will.”

Zack raised an eyebrow. “Problems with the missus?”

Cloud blinked. “No. She understands. She's familiar with it. Someone was spiking women's drinks with it. Tifa caught him at Seventh Heaven. A person died before, during the ‘stigma.”

“So much for controlled substance,” Zack muttered.

“She said she wouldn't mind...if you prefer—” Cloud said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Not this again, Cloud. I'm grateful and all, and I won't deny that it's tempting, but,” here he took a deep breath. “You're the one I trust more than anyone else. I'm glad it's you,” Zack said, running the back of his fingers down Cloud's face, stroking his cheek.

“We'll still be friends, right?” Cloud asked softly. “After all this?”

“No matter what. Friends to the end,” Zack said, holding his hand. “Always.”

Cloud leaned over and kissed him again, nibbling on the bottom of lip, delving his tongue into his mouth. Zack responded, enthusiastic but exhausted. “Come on. Up you get,” said Cloud.

“Okay,” Zack said. Cloud helped him up, and they wobbled down the hall into the little bathroom. The shower was barely big enough for two, but Cloud got Zack situated sitting down against the cold tile, then climbed in after him, sliding the door shut, protecting him from the cold water with his body as he turned the shower on, at least until it got warm.

Cloud soaped up a cloth and scrubbed himself down gently, then switched to Zack, washing him down. Zack leaned back, just letting him touch him. It was strangely dissonant after all they had just been through; the touch was intimate but not sexual. The difference astounded him; the cool quiet blues of Cloud’s touch relaxed him.

When he got to his stomach, though, there was a cool tingling sensation running through him in green, settling on his cock, easing the pain, though he was still hard. “Cloud, what did you—oh. Healing materia?”

“Thought it might help,” Cloud said, shrugging. He moved behind Zack’s taller body, cradling him with his own body, resting him against his chest. Cloud got the shampoo, running his fingers through his hair and massaging the soap into it.

“Yeah. That feels downright heavenly,” Zack said, groaning, leaning back on Cloud's chest, just letting the water thrum across his body. Cloud stroked his hair, petting him; he didn't know if it was the water, the skin contact, or the materia, but Zack felt wonderful, at the moment, content and happy.

He didn’t realize he’d fallen asleep until Cloud started to move him again, leaning him forward so he could get up. “Come on, Fair-weather, time to get up.” Zack didn't want to move; he felt more tired now than he did before they took a shower.

Zack knew the worst was yet to come, and that he didn't have long before he was senseless again. “Cloud,” he said suddenly, water still pouring down on them both. “Don't hate me.”

“Zack, why would I?”

“It's just, you don't want—”

“You don't know what I want. Right now, it's you. Only you. I'd like it better if you were safe, happy, and healthy, but I’ll take what I can get.”

“I might lose my mind. I might hurt you.”

“Not on purpose. Anything else we can get through. We always do.”

“Cloud…”

“C’mon, Zack, let's get you towelled off.” Cloud said, shutting the water off. He slid open the door and grabbed a towel, drying himself off before grabbing the other one for Zack. Zack stood shakily, nearly slipping but for Cloud’s help. Cloud dried him off carefully, and then walked him back to the bedroom, sitting him carefully on the edge of the bed.

“Do you think you could get any food down?” Zack shook his head. “Do you think I could leave you alone long enough to get you something?” Zack shook his head again; it was making him dizzy. “All right, we'll just get to it then,” he heard, as if from underwater.

The next thing he knew, Zack felt hands slapping his face lightly. “Zack, wake up, Zack.”

“Cloud?” He groaned. Zack didn’t remember falling asleep. He felt exhausted, like any minute he was going to keel over. Zack said, “I feel it now, like a sick yellow wave. It's going to hit. I don't want to die, Cloud,” Zack said in a quiet, small voice, half-awake.

“You're not going to die, Zack. I won't let you. Hang in there,” Cloud said, grabbing his shoulder.

But Zack had fallen underneath again, already insensible. Every sound amplified, echoing in his ears. The sensation roared through him, burning acidic yellow as he tossed and turned.

Cloud was kneeling next to him on the bed, making sure they were touching. He could feel something pull, grasp, where they touched, almost as if it was crawling out of himself and attempting to burrow inside Cloud too.

Cloud pinned Zack down, hands behind his head, climbing between his spread legs, keeping him from rolling off the bed. God, Zack was so hot, it was like he was going to melt. He thrust against Cloud's cock again and again from tip to balls, looking for friction, for something, for anything that would relieve the fire overtaking him. He was so hard, the pool of lava in his stomach so molten he wasn't going to survive this. He would turn to bones and ash, right here. Aquamarine pulses helped Zack keep his focus.

Cloud pistoned his hips, pumping against him, the glide of skin-on-skin driving Zack wild as he tossed his head back, seeking completion. Cloud let Zack's hands go, still using one for balance, but Cloud’s other drifted down to hold them together. Zack reached up and pulled Cloud's face to his as he leaned up awkwardly, drinking from him, kissing him deeply, running his hands across the scar Masamune had left once, twice.

Zack surged up, both of them on their knees. “Cloud, _please_ ,” he begged, reaching out where they met. He grabbed Cloud's cock, rubbing it against his own as Cloud breathed in, thrusting a few times before pausing. Zack rubbed them together, stroking, bucking he needed more, he needed _something,_ this wasn't enough, even when Cloud's hand joined his hand, precome making them slick.

Still the fire grew inside, burning yellow-white, laced with blue-green. But he couldn’t come; he just knelt there shaking against Cloud, shivering like a leaf. It wasn’t working. Cloud seemed to pick up on his agitation. “New plan,” Cloud panted, wiping sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

One of Cloud's hands was on Zack's chest, tracing the pockmarks, the bullet hole scars that dotted his torso like so many stars, while the other kept pumping him, Zack’s hips bucking desperately. Touch was important, it was slowing the drain for Zack, but he could see it was beginning to affect Cloud too. It was visible, a sickly yellow-red aura floating above his skin, feeling like lust, sickness, and death, swirling around them both, taking and taking and taking away.

Cloud rummaged with one hand through the other drawer, getting a small package, ripping it open with his teeth and rolling a condom on one handed. “Just a sec.” Cloud reached over on the table for the bottle of lube, pouring some in Zack's hand and his own. It felt ice cold; hell, even Cloud felt lukewarm compared to Zack.

Cloud rubbed him down, the lube quickly warming, and Zack couldn't help but shiver with the anticipation. Cloud prepared him, his movements a little unpractised, stretching him, mimicking what Zack had done earlier. One finger, then more, until he was ready to take him in. Something sparked as Cloud filled him, an aqua green surge that moved through them both as Cloud started moving, pushing away the yellow with every thrust. It started low and small, but it built as Cloud built; as the sensation rocked through Zack it pulsed as Zack pulsed. Then Cloud shifted, changing the angle a bit, each hit sparking pleasure as Zack pulled at his own cock. He came explosively, ropy white covering his thighs and stomach.

For Cloud it took a little while longer, gripping Zack's hips, but he collapsed on top of him, pulling out, tying and discarding the used condom over the side of the bed.

Cloud had barely had time to wipe them off with the still damp towel when Zack surged up in a wave of green, like being submerged in mako. Cloud pinned him down, hands on him in chartreuse, his own arms splayed out next to his head. It was the mako. He struggled to get them off; it meant more injections. He punched and kicked out, bucking trying to get the person holding him down off him.

“Zack, Zack, calm down, I got you,” a Voice said above him. Cloud's. It was Cloud’s. What was Cloud doing outside of the other tank? “I got you, you're safe.”

“Hojo!” Zack rasped. “Where's Hojo? We’ve got to escape, Cloud!”

“He's dead! You're in your flat in Edge,” Cloud said, speaking in a low, soothing tone.

“The fuck is Edge?” he said, pausing in his struggle as he realised it was Cloud holding him down. Cloud wouldn't hurt him….right?

Cloud ignored him. “You're very sick. I think we took too long between sex, and it drained you a lot faster than we were expecting.”

“S-sex? What are you talking about?” Yeah sure, Zack was painfully aroused and hypersensitive, but that was a side effect of the mako sometimes, and Hojo and some of his underlings never tired of making fun of them for it. Cloud leaned down, pressing the full length of his body against Zack's as he kept pressure against his wrists, leaned up just slightly so Cloud could still look in his eyes. They were both naked, so it was almost total skin contact.

It felt wonderful. In a way contact between just friends shouldn't feel wonderful.

“Ifrit’s Kiss, Zack. Someone got you with it. Not Hojo.”

Zack recognised the name. Then the past couple of days came back to him in a blur. _Oh, fuck._

“Yeah, we've kind of been doing that a lot lately,” Cloud said, a hint of dark humour in his tone. Zack hadn't realised he had said that out loud. “But you aren't in the labs. You got out. You saved me. We’re safe. You're a hero,” Cloud said earnestly.

“We're safe?” Zack asked, just to be sure.

“We're safe, Zack,” Cloud said. “I swear.”

He trusted Cloud to tell him the truth. “Okay.” He let out a release of breath. “Okay.” He stopped resisting. Cloud's touch burned like a brand, and since he was everywhere, Zack felt overwhelmed by sensation, blue eating away at the edges of the green-yellow. Something was building inside him, flames, a force too strong to be contained. But it was tempered by Cloud’s touch. It calmed him, soothing the rough edges.

“Zack?”

“Yeah, Cloud?"

“I'm going to kiss you now. Is that all right?”

Instead of responding, Zack pulled Cloud to him, pressing his lips against his. He wasn't going to think about the hows and the whys, or whether Cloud wanted this—because he sure as hell did—or if he was dreaming.

The kiss grew more and more heated, Zack's tongue thrusting inside Cloud's mouth in a mimicry of a far more intimate act, until finally Zack pulled away, breathing hard.

“This is a dream. I know it's a dream,” he murmured.

Cloud stroked his thumb across Zack's cheek. “It's not a dream. I'm right here, Zack.”

“Of course, in this dream, you're usually wearing a négligé,” Zack mused.

Cloud made a choking noise. There was a long pause. “D-do you want me to? Would that make it easier for you?”

“Maybe not easier, but it would be really, really hot,” Zack said.

“Wait here a moment,” Cloud said, getting up. Zack whined from the loss of heat, but he got a great view of his bare ass. Cloud went to his closet, reaching in the back, and pulled a scrap of silken purple fabric out of the back, and shimmied into it, getting tangled for a moment in the thin straps.

It was mostly sheer and fit him sinfully perfect, like it was tailored to his slim hips, a little ruffled dip emphasising his muscular pectorals while it flared just below his ass at the beginning of his thighs. It was clearly made for a man.

“Cloud?”

Cloud came back and straddled him, thighs cradling his hips, lengths nearly touching. The silk was like cool water on his skin, direct opposite to Cloud’s fire. “Hmm?”

“You’re amazing. I love you, man.”

A slight pause, and then Cloud said, voice low and husky, “I...love you too, Zack,” and then he leaned over for another long kiss. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud’s waist, hugging him, snuggling into his shoulder, resting against his neck.

Zack could feel the last vestiges of Ifrit's Kiss still in his system, still trying to control him, to drain him. He couldn't be bothered with it though, not when he had Cloud in his arms, chasing the remnants of it away.

“Cloud…?” He said against his skin. Cloud was so warm and comfortable.

“Yeah?” Cloud asked arms around Zack, nesting his hands in Zack’s hair and curling a few damp spikes around his fingers.

“Is this for real?” Zack said, pulling his head up, searching Cloud’s eyes. “I’m not dreaming, am I?”

“Yeah, Zack.” Cloud pulled Zack’s head to his chest, placing it over his heart and kissing the top of his head. Zack listened to the steady _thump-thump_ of Cloud’s heart. “It’s for real.” Cloud pulled them both so they were laying down on the bed, still holding Zack to his heart, wrapping his leg around his hip and holding him as close as possible. “You’re not dreaming.”

Zack closed his eyes, letting the touch and taste and smell and feel tell him what his eyes could not. He was surrounded by Cloud everywhere, and nothing was more perfect, and without realizing it, he slipped into a deep sleep.

When Zack awoke again, his head was pounding like he'd been on a three week bender. He hadn't felt that way since his last night out with the boys before he'd gotten his enhancements.

He hurt all over; his entire body felt like one gigantic noodle, and he had a wicked bad taste in his mouth. It took a lot of effort, but he opened his eyes. For some reason, he was in Cloud's room. “What the—” He paused though, when he saw the person lying next to him.

“Wha— _Cloud_!?” Zack said, looking over at the blond who was slumped half hung over the edge of the bed, dead asleep. His lips were bruised, he had bruises, no kiss marks all over his neck and shoulders and thighs, and he was wearing an— _oh god. A négligé just like my dreams._ It had ridden up, showing a very nice ass, and what looked like bruises from fingers, already yellowing. _It looks like someone ravaged him thoroughly. But who?_ Zack looked around. It was just the two of them.

 _Don't recognise your own handywork?_ A small voice asked in the back of his mind. Zack did like to make his mark, but—

 _No, there’s no way, this has to be a joke, a sick prank_! “There's no way he would—that we would—That I—” _would ever be uninhibited enough to go for it._ Zack's heart sank to the pit of his stomach. _Oh, shit._ The last thing he remembered was knocking back a highball the informant had given him, a Wutaian spirit and some weird fruity shit that tasted funky. He must have been drugged; by the time the bar had filled with enemies it had already started to work. He didn’t remember anything else. He felt sore in interesting places and shaky, like he was going through withdrawal, and there was a very thoroughly debauched Cloud lying next to him. There were very few scenarios that could come from that situation. And the flashes of memory he was getting—

“Cloud,” Zack said, voice very distressed, struggling to reach over and shake him. “What did I _do_? Oh Gaia, you probably hate me now. What if I—did I—”

“You didn't do anything I didn't want,” Cloud said, voice rough, lifting his head from the bed. “If anything, I should be asking you that. I said it before. I had a choice. You didn’t.”

“You could have just let me wait it out, Cloud. I never meant for it to—”

“Not an option. Not if your life is at stake. Not ever.” Cloud said, shaking his head at every "not."

“Cloud—” Zack began.

“And I don't regret it, even if you do, no matter what comes from it,” Cloud said stubbornly with a tilt of his chin, crossing his arms. “I’m only sorry you didn’t have a choice.”

Zack shrugged, but his stomach was crawling. “C’mere, Cloud,” he said, opening his arms wide and waving him in, patting his lap.

Cloud did without a word, straddling Zack's legs, knees touching the headboard. He hesitated for a moment, so Zack said, “I want you in my life, Cloud. It doesn't matter how, just so long as you're there.” Cloud reached up and wrapped his arms around Zack, nesting his fingers in his hair. He tilted his head to the side so they wouldn't bump noses, and pressed his lips against Zack's.

“And Cloud? Just so you know? Don’t think I would ever not want this,” Zack said against his lips, and pressed back. It wasn't enough. Zack wrapped his arms around Cloud's waist, feeling the body heat through the thin silk fabric. He licked Cloud's lip, pulling it gently with his teeth, asking permission which Cloud willingly gave.

Zack explored his mouth, drinking from him. Cloud gave a moan and Zack could feel it vibrate down into his bones, causing him to press Cloud against him tighter, grabbing his ass, causing Cloud to grind against him. They only pulled away when neither one of them could breathe.

“Zack, I’m sorry if I—” Cloud began.

Zack ran his fingers through Cloud's messy spikes, ruffling his hair. He sighed, then slouched down, folding a pillow in half then laying on his side. He patted the mattress beside him. “C’mere.” Zack pulled him over, and Cloud lay with his head on his shoulder.

“I just wish I could remember clearly.”

“What?” Cloud blinked.

“It's a shame I missed it. I mean, I know it was life threatening and all, but judging by the way you look, it just had to be really great sex, that's all.”

“Yeah, it was,” Cloud admitted.

“ _And_ I somehow got you into a négligé. You're going to have to tell me how I did that so I can repeat the process.”

“For you, I’d do anything,” Cloud said honestly.

Zack reached over with his other hand and put it over his heart. “Ow, my heart. Who just comes right out and says that?” Before Cloud could respond, he added. “I'm just teasing, Raincloud, don’t look so grumpy. I’d do the same thing, just so you know.”

“Yeah?” Cloud asked. “Would you, Fair-weather?”

“Mmhm,” Zack said, leaning down for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around Cloud, resting his face against his jaw and nuzzling him. “I totally would. Cloud?”

“Hmm?”

“How would you define us?”

Cloud hmmed, taking Zack’s hand in his. “Do we have to be defined?”

“Cloud!” Zack whined. “ _Please_.”

Cloud kissed his head. “Friends, then. Always.”

“Friends?”

“Best friends. Everything else is just dressing, Zack. It doesn’t matter what you call it.”

Zack grabbed Cloud's hand, running their fingers together. “Friends, then. No matter what.”

Cloud kissed his scar, moving his lips slowly down Zack’s jawline until he rested his face in the crook of Zack's neck. “No matter what.”

* * *

Aerith came home, closing the door behind her with a soft click. It was quiet, and dark, which was unusual since Zack was supposed to be home from his job already. She'd had a slurred and garbled voice mail from him. She was a little worried, but he wasn't one to drunk dial.

She’d almost cancelled her trip but changed her mind at the last moment, instead leaving early. She stumbled over something soft. She turned on a lamp. Clothing was strewn across the room: Zack's. She frowned. Normally, he wasn't that messy.

A bit worried, she found Cloud's laid out neatly in the den. A certain suspicion was growing, but she wanted to confirm. She checked her bedroom and the spare; nothing. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door to Cloud's room, the only one that had any light.

Zack was naked, tossing in his sleep. The air smelled of sex, yes, but it also smelled of sickness and pain. Cloud was there too, in the silk purple nightie Aerith had gotten him as a gag gift, wrapped protectively as the big spoon around Zack, even though Zack was almost a foot taller.

The remnant zing of curaga filled the air, and both men were extremely drained, health and mana wise. Both of them were asleep and looked awful. There had been a battle here, Aerith was sure of it. Cloud looked pale and washed out, but it was nothing compared to the waxy, hollowed out look of Zack.

Aerith shook him. “Cloud, Cloud; is everything all right?”

He shifted, sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes and blinking blearily at her. His hair was mussed and he had kiss marks all over him. “Aerith?” He said sleepily, and then, as if realising who she was, he sat straight up and said, “Aerith, I can explain—”

“I know, silly. How is he?” She asked, leaning over. “What happened?”

Cloud looked over at Zack. “He’ll live. Ifrit’s Kiss, they call it. Someone got him with it. Gives you uncontrollable lust that drains and burns you out from the inside, unless you can wait it out or have someone ‘share’ your life force.” _Sex,_ he didn't say, but Aerith knew anyway. “Apparently, it’s usually deadly in the first case.”

“And sex is a very vital act; it creates life; the Lifestream never flows stronger in a living being than during coitus,” Aerith mused. “That makes sense.”

Cloud blinked. “If you say so. There's an amnesia component,” Cloud said. “Every time he wakes up, he doesn’t remember much. Except for the last...He seemed a little more aware. I still figured it was better if he didn't wake up alone.” he said, stroking Zack's hair. Aerith didn't think he realised he was doing it.

“And the nightie?” Aerith just had to ask.

Cloud blushed. “Zack really appreciated me in it,” he said.

Aerith leaned over and kissed Cloud on the forehead. “Thank you for taking care of him while I was gone, Cloud.” Zack had needed her help, _again,_ and she hadn't been there when he needed her most.

“I’ll get dressed, I’ll go, now that you're here,” Cloud said, fumbling over his words, scrambling to get up and preserve his modesty at the same time—impossible with the scrap of fabric he was wearing. Aerith wasn't ashamed to admit she looked.

“No, stay.” Aerith said, holding on to his arm.

“Aerith—”

“He needs you. I need you. He’ll want to understand.” She leaned over again, kissing Cloud on the top of the head this time. “Stay with us,” she said, pulling up a chair and sitting down. “We'll worry about it later, alright?”

Cloud looked at her for a long moment, face inscrutable. “All right.”

“And Cloud?” Aerith asked, grabbing hold of his hand.

“Yeah?”

She squeezed it. “Thanks again.” Things were going to change amongst them in the future, but well, change wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

It just was.


End file.
